Page 38 of Dragon Her Heels

“But they are not,” he confirmed. “And I shall leave you with that to think about. You have my thanks for what you do.”

The archangel vanished in a flash of golden light, and he left me, as the divine often did, with far more questions than answers.

* * *

After taking the frizzle back to the coop and promising I would bring her in closer to dark, I stood on the shore of Lake Hancock and stared out over the water in the direction of the node. Since detecting it, it—and something similar to it—tickled my senses. My attempts to pinpoint the second node failed, but it infused my entire property with a soft and gentle power.

The node within the lake carried with it tension, as though it understood its time drew to a close and it resisted such a fate.

When I had unlocked my potential as a hedge witch, I had been much like that node, unwilling to accept the death I courted.

It wished to live, and I would do everything in my power to delay the inevitable. Michael’s words offered hope its demise could be diverted. If the node’s failure was inevitable, he would have said so.

Angels couldn’t lie.

Some truths didn’t change, and that was one of them.

The dragon hadn’t even come calling yet, but he somehow managed to dog my heels, although he counted as a harmless puppy more than anything else. While Lucifer had approached me, I accepted my job as existing only because of the mysterious dragon not yet ready to raise his castle from the depths.

I wondered what role the castle played in the node’s woes—and if part of the solution would be to restore the building to the surface so the magic had a chance to settle. Mysteries still surrounded magic in every way, but I understood a few simple truths of the situation.

Magic needed to be used, else it withered, and if the node and castle had been dormant, the node could require a purpose to revitalize itself. I knew a hedge witch, lesser by the Devil’s definition, who had weakened over time because she refused to accept the gifts her brush with death had brought to her door.

I suspected my powers had grown because once I had discovered my abilities, I had found ways to use them. I coaxed plants to stronger life. I offered protection to those in my care.

I even nudged nature here and there so that my property became a safe haven for all. Death still came to the plants and animals on my property, but predation only occurred when a true necessity or some critter I hadn’t accounted for wandered into the reach of a hungry alligator.

And sometimes, nature did as nature did, and I wouldn’t help should a wild animal venture beyond the safety of my wards.

While I obstructed the cycle of life and death on my property, I at least attempted to do so in a sensible fashion.

The alligators remained a problem, but as long as I stayed, I would smile even when having to dodge the devotion of the reptiles.

I glanced down at my feet to discover I had already drawn an audience of babies, which crept forward in their hopes of engaging in aggressive cuddling. Accepting my fate, I bent over, reached out, and began the tedious process of making certain each one got attention.

“You know, normal people would not be petting them,” an unfortunately familiar voice stated from behind me. “I thought you would like to know that Lucifer picked your pockets so he could unlock the gate and let me in.”

Yep, the tall, dark, and handsome had come calling, and the Devil had aided him. After I unleashed his wife on him to add to his collection of scratches, I’d thank him for the trouble. “If I were five feet from here and in the water, I would be worried about being on the menu, but this is safe enough,” I replied, allowing myself a smile. “If you have ever struggled with curiosity and battled with the burning need to pet wild alligators, now is the time to act upon such impulses.” As bending over all day would kill my back, I took care with crouching so I wouldn’t injure any of my little friends. “What can I do for you, Yuless?”

“I wanted to see if that offer to see your horses was still open. My friend had something come up, and I found myself rather displeased I haven’t gotten to see any horses yet today.”

The Devil snickered. “He’s telling the truth, too, which amuses me. I really didn’t take you to be the horse type, Yuless.” Then, to make it clear Yuless had spoken the truth, he handed me my keys. “You really should at least attempt to stop someone from swiping those.”

I sighed and returned my keys to my pocket where they belonged. “At least you didn’t steal my phone.”

“I wanted to remind you that you have a fob for your gate, as you seem to have forgotten. Of course, you have six fobs on that thing, and I’m impressed it fits in your pocket. Do you even know what they all do?”

“The phone is easier. And yes, I know what they’re for. The one fob is for the alarm system, one is for the gate, one is for my truck, one is for the cover of my truck bed, and two are for the garage.”

Fortunately for my sanity, the garage, alarm, and gate fobs were tiny compared to the truck fobs.

“That’s better than my wife. She’s up to a collection of twenty, and she knows what two of them do,” Lucifer confessed in a despairing tone.

I bet most of them were cars, as Lucifer seemed like the type to have numerous vehicles. “Perhaps you should label them for her.”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

I rolled my eyes and contemplated shoving him in the lake to make friends—or become the snack—of the local alligators. “Yuless, you’re welcome to visit with my horses. I have some chores to do here first, but Lucifer knows where the pasture is, and I’m sure they would love to accept affection from you.” They would accept attention from anyone gracious enough to do their bidding, but he’d figure that out sooner than later. “If you want to groom them, you can take them to the barn. Lucifer knows their names and can direct you to their stalls and show you everything.”